1970s: The Development and Diplomatic Relations of Nuclear Weapons from 1945 to 1990

1970s

Disallowing weapons of mass destruction on the seabed and the ocean floor, beyond a 12-mile coastal zone, was the Seabed Arms Control Treaty, signed in February 1971. On May 26, 1972, the US and USSR sign the Antiballistic Missile Treaty (ABMT) limiting antiballistic missile defenses, in addition to the SALT I Interim Agreement, which established “an interim ceiling on strategic offensive nuclear weapons” (Mendelsohn, Grahame, 2). “The idea behind the limitation of ABMs was to reinforce the doctrine that defense against nuclear weapons was impossible” (Andrews, 49). These nations agreed to minimize their defenses and offenses, making each more vulnerable to an attack, and thus each less likely to attack. Because of fear, nations constantly sought ways to minimize their risk of being attacked. This led to the US-USSR agreement known as the PNWA, in which each “agreed to consult one another in [a] time of crisis in order to avoid nuclear conflict” (Mendelsohn, Grahame, 29). “Threat [and fear] has produced deterrent which has largely succeeded thus far in preventing large-scale war” (Brennan, 45). With this, it is evident that fear of a nuclear attack kept all nations frequently searching for solutions to their fears, mainly through treaties and agreements.

With interests in national security as well, India proceeded to conduct its first nuclear test in May 1974. A major factor in limiting the advancement in nuclear weapons technology came on July 3, 1974, when the US and USSR signed the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT), which banned underground tests of nuclear weapons with a yield higher than 150 kilotons. Later in 1976, both nations also signed the Peaceful Nuclear Explosions Treaty (PNET), where both factions agreed not to test any nuclear weapons above 150 kilotons, regardless of location. Neither the TTBT nor the PNET were ratified until Jun. 1, 1990, during the Presidencies of George Bush Sr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. One month following the signing of the TTBT, the Zangger Committee was formed of 15 nations. It established a set of guidelines which must be adhered to when exporting anything that could be considered beneficial to a nuclear weapons program. In the midst of signing this plethora of treaties, the US was secretly developing a neutron bomb, and in July 1977, the US came out and said that it had already tested the first neutron bomb ever made. This deadly new weapon, when detonated, left structures in tact, for the most part, while killing all biologically living organisms in its path. Two months following this announcement, the Soviet Union had invaded Afghanistan, and the CTBT talks were recessed, only never to be resumed. To finish off the decade, and provide both the US and USSR with more comfort, and SALT II is signed, limiting even further, nuclear weapons stockpiles.

Works Cited
Andrews, Elaine K. Civil Defense in the Nuclear Age. Franklin Watts: New York. 1985.
Brennan, Donald G. Arms Control, Disarmament, and National Security. George Braziller: New York. 1961.
“Foreign Missile Developments and the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States through 2015.” National Intelligence Council. Sep. 1999. 29 Mar 2004 .
Garwin, Richard L. “Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century: Prospects and Policy.” 23 Oct. 1999 – 25 Oct. 1999. 29 Mar. 2004 .
Mendelsohn, Jack, and Grahame, David. Arms Control Chronology. The Center for Defense Information: Washington D.C. 2002.
“Nuclear Weapon.” Wikipedia. Nov. 2000 – 29 Mar. 2004. 29 Mar. 2004 .
“Nuclear Energy.” Harper’s Magazine. April 2004. 29 Mar. 2004 .